Joonatan Itkonen
@regionfree.net
🆔 AuDHD | Queer | He/him
📋 Writer for film, comics, and games | Editor @ Region Free
🎞️ Bylines: KonsoliFIN, Pelaaja, Movies We Texted About, FILMHOUNDS, Debug Magazine
🍅meter and Metacritic listed | FIPRESCI, OFTA, IFSC member
📩 joonatan@regionfree.net
📋 Writer for film, comics, and games | Editor @ Region Free
🎞️ Bylines: KonsoliFIN, Pelaaja, Movies We Texted About, FILMHOUNDS, Debug Magazine
🍅meter and Metacritic listed | FIPRESCI, OFTA, IFSC member
📩 joonatan@regionfree.net
Tennant is a treasure and one of the rare few beacons of hope in the UK as it spirals towards insanity.
"In recent history, the Doctor Who actor has repeatedly made headlines thanks to his allyship towards trans and gender non-conforming people – most notably with a subtle gesture during a TV interview that wound up helping to raise £18,000 for the LGBTQ+ youth charity AKT."
'F*** Off And Let People Be': David Tennant Doubles Down On Support For Trans People
"People are trying to create division... and it's so f***ing unnecessary."
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
November 30, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Tennant is a treasure and one of the rare few beacons of hope in the UK as it spirals towards insanity.
I'm a massive fan of the Legend of Zelda series and a sucker for all things Dynasty Warriors, is anyone surprised that I loved Age of Imprisonment? Anyone? Bueller? #gaming
regionfree.net/hyrule-warri...
regionfree.net/hyrule-warri...
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment is a tehnical marvel
★★★★★ | A technical marvel with enough lore and addictive gameplay to satisfy both fans and newcomers alike.
regionfree.net
November 28, 2025 at 11:11 AM
I'm a massive fan of the Legend of Zelda series and a sucker for all things Dynasty Warriors, is anyone surprised that I loved Age of Imprisonment? Anyone? Bueller? #gaming
regionfree.net/hyrule-warri...
regionfree.net/hyrule-warri...
Me?
Exciting news! Thanks to our sale, we've rocketed all the way up to over 4,900 paying subscribers. This means we can cross another goal, a regular columnist, off our list. We plan to sort out the exact specifics in our own time, but for now, who do you think would be a good fit?
November 27, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Me?
Hey! First Metacritic highlight.
Of Ash and Steel [PC - 57] www.metacritic.com/game/of-ash-...
"Hugely ambitious and rife with ideas, Of Ash and Steel is an unpolished and deeply broken throwback to an era most have left behind." - Region Free
"Hugely ambitious and rife with ideas, Of Ash and Steel is an unpolished and deeply broken throwback to an era most have left behind." - Region Free
November 27, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Hey! First Metacritic highlight.
I was so excited to play Of Ash and Steel, which was one of my Gamescom highlights this year. Sadly, the full release is riddled with game breaking bugs, awful design choices, and so much jank it makes Gothic look impressive by comparison. #gaming
regionfree.net/of-ash-and-s...
regionfree.net/of-ash-and-s...
Review: Of Ash and Steel is foundationally broken
★★ | Hugely ambitious and rife with ideas, Of Ash and Steel is an unpolished and deeply broken throwback to an era most have left behind.
regionfree.net
November 26, 2025 at 9:30 AM
I was so excited to play Of Ash and Steel, which was one of my Gamescom highlights this year. Sadly, the full release is riddled with game breaking bugs, awful design choices, and so much jank it makes Gothic look impressive by comparison. #gaming
regionfree.net/of-ash-and-s...
regionfree.net/of-ash-and-s...
I've been soloing this whole journalism thing for five years now. After getting into Metacritic, Opencritic, Rotten Tomatoes, and FIPRESCI, it's time to make the next step. Starting today, my base of operations has a new name and a new look. Here's to another excellent five years! regionfree.net
Region Free
Movies, games, streaming, and technology from a neurodiverse perspective.
regionfree.net
November 25, 2025 at 9:05 AM
I've been soloing this whole journalism thing for five years now. After getting into Metacritic, Opencritic, Rotten Tomatoes, and FIPRESCI, it's time to make the next step. Starting today, my base of operations has a new name and a new look. Here's to another excellent five years! regionfree.net
Soylent Green is people, Charlie Brown!
Aiat, Charlie Brown!
You wanna know how I got these scars, Charlie Brown?
November 24, 2025 at 8:40 AM
Soylent Green is people, Charlie Brown!
I feel like I've been doing nothing for the past months but shouting from the rooftops what a miraculous and brilliant film this is. If you have the chance, see it on the big screen with a crowd. It's the most fun I had at TIFF this year.
Final trailer! Wake Up Dead Man is in theaters 11/26 and on Netflix 12/12. Can’t WAIT for you all to see it. #wakeupdeadman
November 22, 2025 at 1:48 PM
I feel like I've been doing nothing for the past months but shouting from the rooftops what a miraculous and brilliant film this is. If you have the chance, see it on the big screen with a crowd. It's the most fun I had at TIFF this year.
This whole linear time thing is some bullshit, I tell you. I'm fairly certain the Xbox 360 came out no more than ten years ago, when I was in high school. No, I'm not OK.
November 22, 2025 at 9:24 AM
This whole linear time thing is some bullshit, I tell you. I'm fairly certain the Xbox 360 came out no more than ten years ago, when I was in high school. No, I'm not OK.
Sektori, from Housemarque alumni Kimmo Lahtinen, is as perfect a twin-stick shooter as you can imagine. One of the most ingenuously designed experiences of the year, it's gaming distilled to its foundational elements. I loved it. #gaming
toisto.net/sektori-game...
toisto.net/sektori-game...
Review: Sektori is pure arcade heaven
★★★★★ | Packed with superb design and a kicking soundtrack, Sektori is pure twin-stick shooter nirvana that is as close to arcade perfection as you can get.
toisto.net
November 18, 2025 at 4:27 PM
Sektori, from Housemarque alumni Kimmo Lahtinen, is as perfect a twin-stick shooter as you can imagine. One of the most ingenuously designed experiences of the year, it's gaming distilled to its foundational elements. I loved it. #gaming
toisto.net/sektori-game...
toisto.net/sektori-game...
Winter Burrow has some of my favorite writing in any game this year. It is a touching and often heartbreaking fable about found families and putting life together again. It's the other elements, inlcuding confounding design choices, that stumble. #gaming
toisto.net/winter-burro...
toisto.net/winter-burro...
Winter Burrow is more survival than cozy
★★★ | Winter Burrow is beautiful and wonderfully written adventure brought down by obtuse and frustrating design choices.
toisto.net
November 16, 2025 at 11:57 PM
Winter Burrow has some of my favorite writing in any game this year. It is a touching and often heartbreaking fable about found families and putting life together again. It's the other elements, inlcuding confounding design choices, that stumble. #gaming
toisto.net/winter-burro...
toisto.net/winter-burro...
In theaters today, The Running Man is a mostly entertaining and handsomely produced adaptation of King's prescient novel, let down by Edgar Wright pulling all his punches where they matter most. What a frustrating movie. #Filmsky
toisto.net/the-running-...
toisto.net/the-running-...
The Running Man is a frustratingly timid King adaptation
★★★ | Mostly fun and handsomely produced, The Running Man suffers from a lack of conviction that robs it of urgency and impact.
toisto.net
November 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM
In theaters today, The Running Man is a mostly entertaining and handsomely produced adaptation of King's prescient novel, let down by Edgar Wright pulling all his punches where they matter most. What a frustrating movie. #Filmsky
toisto.net/the-running-...
toisto.net/the-running-...
This has been a great year for game releases and just as I thought we were winding down, I ended up playing two all-time classics in the same genre. The first one, Anno 117, is familiar in mechanics, but tuned to perfection. I loved every minute with it. #gaming toisto.net/anno-117-pax...
Anno 117: Pax Romana is a an all-time great strategy game
★★★★★ | Smartly designed, impeccably produced, and tremendously enjoyable, Anno 117 is one of the best games in its genre this year.
toisto.net
November 13, 2025 at 7:33 AM
This has been a great year for game releases and just as I thought we were winding down, I ended up playing two all-time classics in the same genre. The first one, Anno 117, is familiar in mechanics, but tuned to perfection. I loved every minute with it. #gaming toisto.net/anno-117-pax...
Now You See Me, Now You Don't is like watching a bad magic act from an unbearably smug magician, where there's almost a perverse pleasure in seeing them fumble the ball so hard. #filmsky toisto.net/now-you-see-...
Now You See Me, Now You Don't review
★ | Tediuous, tiresome, and unbearably smug. Now You See Me, Now You Don't is a failed magic trick in every conceivable way.
toisto.net
November 11, 2025 at 5:13 PM
Now You See Me, Now You Don't is like watching a bad magic act from an unbearably smug magician, where there's almost a perverse pleasure in seeing them fumble the ball so hard. #filmsky toisto.net/now-you-see-...
I liked The Outer Worlds 2. In any other year, I may have even loved it. But 2025 is an all-time great year for RPG gaming, and The Outer Worlds is a very safe and often frustratingly limited experience that is fine when it could be outstanding. #gaming
toisto.net/the-outer-wo...
toisto.net/the-outer-wo...
The Outer Worlds 2 is fine when it should be great
★★★★ | Often sublime but mostly simply fine, The Outer Worlds 2 is a good enough game that could be so much more.
toisto.net
November 10, 2025 at 5:58 PM
I liked The Outer Worlds 2. In any other year, I may have even loved it. But 2025 is an all-time great year for RPG gaming, and The Outer Worlds is a very safe and often frustratingly limited experience that is fine when it could be outstanding. #gaming
toisto.net/the-outer-wo...
toisto.net/the-outer-wo...
Happy Frankenstein day to those who celebrate. Guillermo del Toro's magnificent adaptation of Mary Shelley's breathtaking novel is now on Netflix. I loved it to bits. #filmsky
toisto.net/tiff-review-...
toisto.net/tiff-review-...
TIFF Review: Frankenstein is a masterpiece
★★★★★ | Exquisitely crafted and sumptuous to behold, Frankenstein is a vivid masterpiece.
toisto.net
November 7, 2025 at 8:36 AM
Happy Frankenstein day to those who celebrate. Guillermo del Toro's magnificent adaptation of Mary Shelley's breathtaking novel is now on Netflix. I loved it to bits. #filmsky
toisto.net/tiff-review-...
toisto.net/tiff-review-...
Death by Lightning features tremendous performances from Matthew McFadyen and Michael Shannon as two men both thrust into and forgotten by history in the blink of an eye. I really liked this one. #netflix #filmsky
toisto.net/death-by-lig...
toisto.net/death-by-lig...
Death by Lightning is another great Netflix series
★★★★ | Michael Shannon and Matthew MacFadyen impress in this very fictionalized story that skewers American exceptionalism.
toisto.net
November 6, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Death by Lightning features tremendous performances from Matthew McFadyen and Michael Shannon as two men both thrust into and forgotten by history in the blink of an eye. I really liked this one. #netflix #filmsky
toisto.net/death-by-lig...
toisto.net/death-by-lig...
ARC Raiders is gorgeous, runs smoothly, and does all the right aesthetic choices that spark joy. But after 40 hours topside, I still yearn for a pure PVE mode and something that would break free from the confines of the genre. It's good. It can be better.
toisto.net/arc-raiders-...
toisto.net/arc-raiders-...
Arc Raiders is a pretty but shallow extraction shooter
★★★ | Beautiful and smooth to play, Arc Raiders nonetheless suffers from all the same issues as every other extraction shooter.
toisto.net
November 6, 2025 at 11:37 AM
ARC Raiders is gorgeous, runs smoothly, and does all the right aesthetic choices that spark joy. But after 40 hours topside, I still yearn for a pure PVE mode and something that would break free from the confines of the genre. It's good. It can be better.
toisto.net/arc-raiders-...
toisto.net/arc-raiders-...
Reposted by Joonatan Itkonen
I knew it would take less than a day for a tiktok dj to make something.
November 5, 2025 at 12:13 PM
I knew it would take less than a day for a tiktok dj to make something.
Kaikki tämä pätee myös meihin kriitikoihn ja sisällöntuottajiin. Olen tehnyt tänä vuonna satoja arvosteluja, haastatteluja ja videoita, vieraillut radiossa ja luennoimassa niin kotimaassa kuin ulkomailla. Käteen ei ole jäänyt mitään. Ensi vuonna yksi apuraha pelastaa alkuvuoden ja sekin on ihme.
Kirjallisuus on tällä hetkellä mahdollista vain, koska kirjailijat tekevät työtä ilmaiseksi, kirjoittaa Pontus Purokuru.
Missä rahat?
Kirjallisuus on tällä hetkellä mahdollista vain, koska kirjailijat tekevät työtä ilmaiseksi.
substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:10 AM
Kaikki tämä pätee myös meihin kriitikoihn ja sisällöntuottajiin. Olen tehnyt tänä vuonna satoja arvosteluja, haastatteluja ja videoita, vieraillut radiossa ja luennoimassa niin kotimaassa kuin ulkomailla. Käteen ei ole jäänyt mitään. Ensi vuonna yksi apuraha pelastaa alkuvuoden ja sekin on ihme.
Night Visions Maximum Halloween reviews thread!
It's November, which means it is time for another round of Night Visions screenings here in Helsinki. I checked out most of the catalog in advance and will drop the reviews here of all of them.
It's November, which means it is time for another round of Night Visions screenings here in Helsinki. I checked out most of the catalog in advance and will drop the reviews here of all of them.
November 5, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Night Visions Maximum Halloween reviews thread!
It's November, which means it is time for another round of Night Visions screenings here in Helsinki. I checked out most of the catalog in advance and will drop the reviews here of all of them.
It's November, which means it is time for another round of Night Visions screenings here in Helsinki. I checked out most of the catalog in advance and will drop the reviews here of all of them.
Always nice to see my name quoted in such smart and esteemed company!
Critics say #PredatorBadlands has stunning visuals, a surprising amount of heart, and an effortlessly vibrant performance from Elle Fanning.
Predator: Badlands First Reviews: Fresh, Thrilling, Ambitious, and One of the Best in the Franchise
Critics say Elle Fanning is effortlessly vibrant in a film full of stunning visuals and incredible world-building.
editorial.rottentomatoes.com
November 5, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Always nice to see my name quoted in such smart and esteemed company!
Predator: Badlands isn't surprising nor particularly inventive, but it is entertaining and breezy, and that counts for something. Also, please let Elle Fanning become the new Sigourney Weaver for this franchise. She deserves it. #filmsky
toisto.net/predator-bad...
toisto.net/predator-bad...
Predator: Badlands is Elle Fanning's show
★★★ | Breezy and fun with a magnetic performance from Elle Fanning, Predator: Badlands is a good enough addition to the franchise.
toisto.net
November 4, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Predator: Badlands isn't surprising nor particularly inventive, but it is entertaining and breezy, and that counts for something. Also, please let Elle Fanning become the new Sigourney Weaver for this franchise. She deserves it. #filmsky
toisto.net/predator-bad...
toisto.net/predator-bad...
As we barrel towards the end of the year, I've begun to calculate how many pieces I've finished in the last 12 months. So far: 147 theatrical reviews, 50 streaming, 45 physical media, and 54 games, 10 interviews, 6 film festivals, and Gamescom. And there's still more in the pipeline. Phew!
a man is typing on a computer keyboard while making a face .
Alt: Jim Carrey is typing on a keyboard while making a face.
media.tenor.com
November 3, 2025 at 4:00 PM
As we barrel towards the end of the year, I've begun to calculate how many pieces I've finished in the last 12 months. So far: 147 theatrical reviews, 50 streaming, 45 physical media, and 54 games, 10 interviews, 6 film festivals, and Gamescom. And there's still more in the pipeline. Phew!
By framing The Witcher as a grand saga in the style of the Arthurian romances, the fourth season finds a renewed energy and sense of fun. Hemsworth impresses as Geralt and there's a promise the final season will make the difficult journey worthwhile. #thewitcher toisto.net/the-witcher-...
The Witcher: Season 4 is surprisingly good
★★★ | After a slow start, The Witcher: Season 4 finds its own rhythm and grandeur that reminds us why this show was so good in the first place.
toisto.net
October 31, 2025 at 10:24 AM
By framing The Witcher as a grand saga in the style of the Arthurian romances, the fourth season finds a renewed energy and sense of fun. Hemsworth impresses as Geralt and there's a promise the final season will make the difficult journey worthwhile. #thewitcher toisto.net/the-witcher-...